Fitness Coach vs Personal Trainer: Psychology in the gym
Although the Personal Trainer is known as a reference figure in the fitness sector to optimize physical results, a new trend is beginning to make its way, the Fitness Coach or Wellness Coach, coaching in healthy lifestyle.
The fitness coach helps and inspires you to be the one to set your own goals and achieve them, generating powerful and creative conversations that invite reflection and they help you find a way to reach your goals and maintain your new healthy habits forever.
The sessions work on various topics such as feeding, the exercise, the dream, the stress, emotions, weight, tobacco ...
You can find the Fitness Coach in your "gym", but the work and the results of him go beyond the fitness rooms. The Fitness Coach fits perfectly in modern gyms where the new trend, thewellness (well-being), proliferates, and as a consequence, instead of finding rooms full of machines, now we are moving to centers where there is not only a space to train muscles, but also relaxation activities (such as spa, massage cabinets, saunas), group classes (yoga, Pilates, tai-chi ...) along with leisure and rest areas (cafes, hairdressers and esthetic).
What is Wellness?
To this day, there are still many interpretations regarding the definition of fitness and wellness. TheFitness we could consider it as a equivalent of "physical condition" or "be fit". Fitness is based on two fundamental pillars: physical activity and healthy eating. It allows the person to improve cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, strength and muscular endurance, provides more agility and balance, speed, toning; all accompanied by a correct and balanced diet. If necessary, consuming the appropriate supplementation in each particular case, but never anabolic. Fitness is sometimes confused with bodybuilding, but the latter focuses on getting definition and a volume of extreme muscles in symmetry, sacrificing the integral well-being of the person and the functionality.
On the other hand, the Wellness concept or philosophy is considered a more global term. It would not only encompass fitness as improving fitness, but it goes further and uses fitness as a means of improve health, providing longevity, quality of life and beauty. In other words, wellness as a synonym for physical, mental and emotional well-being. You are not only interested in being in shape, but you are also interested in finding a balance between body and mind.
Coaching in the gym
The staff of the fitness rooms and gyms has grown in recent years with professionals with degrees in the sciences of physical activity, sports or health.
At the end of the s. XX, personal trainers relied on their knowledge of physical activity and biomechanics, thinking that were enough to keep clients adhering to your programs and get them to improve their style of lifetime. As time has passed, many have realized that instruction and technical support are not sufficient to cover the diversity of clients' agendas and the need for individualized treatment of the same. If you want to maintain the client's commitment, other variables must be taken into account, especially psychological ones..
Research on the factors that influence exercise led experts to explore emotional and nutritional needs, and many times revealed lifestyle patterns that were harmful, behaviors that were addictive, and personal and family challenges that interfered with achievement of goals. Regarding these aspects, it was necessary for them to be redirected to be able to continue the training successfully. Even before psychology and coaching came to fitness centers, coaches staff were already aware of the need for communication skills and models of intervention in these areas.
The inclusion of the Fitness Coach in the fitness rooms has given access to the appropriate methods to work with clients in these aspects. Two questions then arise regarding the Fitness Coach and the Personal Trainer: "Which method works better?" "Are the two methods equally effective for all clients?".
In order to answer these two questions, it is necessary to understand the operation of both models.
Fitness coach vs Personal Trainer
Clients who want to hire a fitness coach instead of a Personal Trainer should know that they will find two work methodologies and two different communication techniquess. The Fitness Coach will prioritize relationship building and communication. It will focus on customer stories and their strategies, and will provide motivational and supportive messages (for example, using NLP techniques). Although some coaching schools recommend giving advice, most coaches encourage the client to only get to the answer using powerful questions (Socratic questions) that challenge and confront their self-perceptions and limiting beliefs.
It is a process of research and personal discovery to help the client to be more aware, identify and take responsibility for realistic objectives, with a focus on strategies, actions and feedback.
The Personal Trainer may look similar, but it is more focused on instructions and technical information. In addition, it uses a more practical approach by guiding the client during exercises and training, with a directive style of communication, and creating a relationship of dependence on the person to whom guide. Personal trainers are more concerned with defining their role as experts in physical training and knowledge biomechanical, but they do not promote personal growth or ensure that the client learns the true concept of wellness.
Now, after knowing that coaches and personal trainers trust different work methodologies, it is time to answer the second question that I previously posed: "Do the two methods work the same for everyone?" To answer this question we need to understand the client, since each person is different, they have different goals, unique past experiences and needs that can vary from one to other.
Therefore, to better understand the customer's needs, one must understand the Theory of Self-efficacy from Albert Bandura (1977), which emphasizes the role of what one says to oneself during the process of acquiring the objectives that he intends to achieve, and determines the conduct and way of acting in each situation.
Self-efficacy: The key to meeting long-term goals
The Self-efficacy are the judgments and beliefs that a person has about their abilities to successfully perform a certain task and, therefore, direct the course of their action. These expectations determine the preference for certain activities, motivation, persistence in those tasks and emotional responses to various situations. Furthermore, and very importantly, self-efficacy expectations are variable and specific to each context. For example, beliefs will be different when swimming or preparing to run marathons. Self-efficacy beliefs are affected by own achievements in the past, vicarious learning or observation of the behavior of others, verbal persuasion or the level of emotional arousal.
Some clients may come to the gym with nutrition and exercise knowledge, but are unable to adhere to a training plan or diet. Others, on the other hand, will know absolutely nothing about the exercises they must perform.
The first example refers to people who have mastered self-efficacy related to physical activity, but may have cognitive and emotional difficulties when designing, implementing or maintaining behaviors related to the acquisition of goals. The second example refers to people who need instruction to be able to start exercising. and, therefore, they will need a directive style to be able to start on the right foot, achieve fast results get injured.
Observing the Self-efficacy of clients from different angles, will allow us identify people who need to improve their physical ability to achieve their goals, or give us information about people who need to improve their cognitive and emotional skills to successfully manage the necessary transitions in a change process.
Conclution
In short, people can have skills and competencies that are necessary, but not sufficient, to achieve the objectives. One of the variables that influence the acquisition of goals is the perception of self-efficacy, that is, the expectation of success that the person has when faced with a particular situation, based on the resources they believe they have and the characteristics of the situation and the context.
A person can avoid situations in which he doubts her ability, however suggestive it may be. be a certain objective, believing that they do not have the necessary resources to reach to get it. The perception of self-efficacy is key in the coaching process and is necessary to achieve long-term goals. The Personal Trainer may have very useful tools and the Fitness Coach as well. The ideal to be a good professional of this field is to possess the necessary skills to be able to use both ways of working according to the client's needs.
